Masters 1000

The ATP Masters 1000 is the top category of the ATP Tour, the men's circuit below the four Grand Slams. The name is the prize: the champion earns 1,000 ranking points, half a major, twice an ATP 500. There are nine of them in 2026. Eight are mandatory for the top 30 and count in a player's ranking whether played or not; Monte-Carlo is the exception, and the rulebook lets it stand in for one of the ATP 500 commitments instead.

When you see it

Seven of the nine now run for 12 days with 96-player draws, in which all 32 seeds skip the first round; the other two keep the one-week, 56-player format, in which the top eight seeds have a bye. All ATP Tour matches, finals included, are best of three sets, unlike the majors. Because everyone in the top 30 is expected to turn up, a Masters 1000 draw is often as strong as a Slam's, and a title at one is the clearest sign of a player's standing below the majors. The ATP Race for the Nitto ATP Finals is decided largely at these events, the last of them in Paris.

Rule basis

ATP Official Rulebook, Chapter I, 1.01 (Categories of Tournaments) and 1.08 (commitment players and their commitment); Chapter IX, 9.03 (ranking calculation: four Grand Slams, eight mandatory Masters 1000s, the Nitto ATP Finals and six best other results); Chapter VII, 7.15 (Number of Seeds) and 7.18 (Byes).